Homeland Security by Microsoft

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microsoft software gained another large foothold with the u.s. government. a new us$110-120 million dollar enterprise agreement with dell for ms products will cover the department of homeland security's desktop and server software. the contract, which spans 6 years, will cover all 22 agencies, which includes 144,000 users now under the department.

the contract marks another big win for microsoft from the u.s. government. microsoft recently won a record-setting $471 million dollar contract from the u.s. army (see our previous coverage).

the enterprise agreement will be managed by dell marketing lp. dell will be responsible for the asset management of the software as well as any upgrades which are a part of the enterprise agreement. though dell will receive no additional money for managing upgrades, it will gain inside knowledge of the department's structure and software use, which will aid dell in future bids.

brian's opinion
there seems to be a big move for government agencies to centralize their software purchases. this is definitely a smart move over time. a microsoft enterprise agreement does make managing software licensing much easier in the long run. rather than having to cut a purchase order for each new license needed, you merely sign a “true-up” report on which you claim any new additions to your enterprise agreement. then you write the check, of course. that's why usually it's a good idea to overestimate your desktop and server needs at the beginning of a contract, since it's much cheaper than purchasing licenses later.

i know i am sounding like a microsoft commercial, but if you deal with a large quantity of desktops and servers which utilize microsoft software, an enterprise agreement is definitely something to look into. your sanity will thank you and the trees you will save in printing out purchase orders will be worth it. that's why it isn't too surprising to see the homeland security department signing one.

microsoft's competitors shouldn't be too worried. i am sure there is plenty of taxpayer money to go around. it looks like oracle and symantec may be the next companies in line at the government's feeding trough.

user comments 56 comment(s)

less safe than before(1:04pm est wed jul 16 2003)does anybody else out there feel, less safe than yesterday knowing that microsoft is going to be insuring you security? – by paranoia

i do!(1:07pm est wed jul 16 2003)god, bill gates will know more about my pornography viewing habits then my own roommate… and that makes me uncomfortable… – by downwiththeman

national “security” …(1:12pm est wed jul 16 2003)

… brought to you by the folks who rely on “security through obscurity” in order to keep os sales and licensing above water.

oh, wait, i forgot: the feds use the same method in their day-to-day affairs.

security and microsoft haha(1:22pm est wed jul 16 2003)how many major security issues have been released regarding microsofts products and os, and crashed systems, hmm oh yeah dell, haha wait till they have to call for tech support 4 hrs and still on hold….linux, mac anything would have been more stable, and secure ::sigh:: – by thru9

on the other hand …(1:23pm est wed jul 16 2003)

… this is great news for enterprising crackers and other computer criminals:

imagine the government's .– by k. adams

microsoft security?(1:28pm est wed jul 16 2003)i think not, lol. i give that system 8 months of uptime before it gets cracked, and i'm talkin about the kind of crack like what happened to the cia, doj, and white house a while back.

lol – by zero cool

security and microsoft oxymorons(1:29pm est wed jul 16 2003)our experience as microsoft engineers implementing networks and security over the last 10 years has shown us that microsoft is not secure and does not give our clients or ourselves any feeling that using ms operating systems will be secure especially for our government. one of the easiest networks to break into has been microsoft networks over the years and nothing that mr gates has shown the it community has changed the minds of those who know the most about security or the lack there of.our government is once again falling for hype and easiblility instead of putting “money where their mouth is and assuring that we will once again be more vulnerable to outside and inside attacks. would mr gates's engineers be willing to sit and try to prove their worthiness to the it community. no! why its is not the best system to place the future of our country on. – by lou

microshaft(1:32pm est wed jul 16 2003)any 15 year old canadian/arabic hacker can now monitor the servers of the department of homeland security.thats friggin great. – by damon17

8 months?!?(1:32pm est wed jul 16 2003)i say more like 8 days!

microsoft and security used in the same sentence… now that is funnny!

looks like i will be moving to canada…– by this is scary

score big…(1:41pm est wed jul 16 2003)for the script kiddies… they are gonna have a field day with these systems… can't wait to see the article about “another” attack on the homeland security servers… – by l337h4x0r

microsoft/dhs security(1:51pm est wed jul 16 2003)think of the logic though–if our homeland security can be made more insecure, then through these lapses we can have further attacks on american “interests” which will rile up the voters, giving the politicians the freedom to go out and take over whichever resource rich country they need, whether that country had anything to do with the attack or not. this explains why with 144,000 users, they would go with ms instead of unix for their servers :)– by thisisnothingnew

talk about talking the talk(2:04pm est wed jul 16 2003)wharrgh. i get absolutely totally fed up by you anti-microsoft geeks. none of you have ever ever hacked into a microsoft system that have been set up to be secure. and if 0.1% of you have, you probably won't be able to in the future. what do you think microsoft uses all that money they've got for? yeah, on killing all the myths about security.. and if you had installed a linux system what about usability and effectiveness for those 144k workers? – by th3rm0lue

have to…(2:17pm est wed jul 16 2003)ms has to do everything they can to stay on the good side of the feds. since everyone out there wants to try to sue ms for something, i think ms is in the “sack” now with the usa and i'm sure the more lawsuits, the more difficult it will be for companies or individuals.my 2 cents…… – by intel_p4guy

walking the walk…(2:20pm est wed jul 16 2003)wharrgh. your mom… that's all i wanted to say… ooops i just pushed this button… wait a minute… what the hell… my script just got me into a microsoft server… woaaa… wow, this the dhs systems… what kind in my elementary school do i want to screw with now… – by a 3rd grader did it

well, i feel safe now. (2:29pm est wed jul 16 2003)i would trust the government, m$, intel and dell with my life and money.those of us with enough calculus know that monetary systems are really closed. i never understand people not selling in a bear market, because there is only x amount of money and people are taking their's. if the us had $300b in surplus and now have $500b in deficit, the money went in someones pocket. it wasn't lost or stolen. we're talking about $800b in about 3 years that went into less than .01% of the people's pockets. the closest thing i've seen is the hmo boom which took $300b out of drs pockets and put it in hmo exec's in about 6 years. – by please take more

hmm(2:45pm est wed jul 16 2003)why do people instantly jump on the anti-ms bandwagon? the only reason that ms software gets hacked more is because it is the easy option, chosen by less capable sysadmins who don't know anything about proper security.ok, so there's also the issue that if an os is much more targeted then it is likely that holes will be found much quicker. but the php kernel has had many security holes. php runs on 80% of the world's web servers. i've found hundreds of vulnerable machines.

i'll give in that *nix is inherently more secure than ms, because of the nature of its core design.however, i don't think that, if both systems are fully configured and directly compared, that the ms solution would deserve *all the criticism it gets.

oh, and yes, i do run a linux system, before you try and complain. – by amadeus

re:th3rm0lue(2:58pm est wed jul 16 2003)i tell you what. you get a microsoft server and secure it the best you can and connect it to the internet. then make a site and put all you credit card numbers and bank accounts in it. then come back here and tell us what the url is so we can try to break into it and get your information.

if we get in within 24 hours we get to empty your bank account and max out your credit.

i am betting that you don't have the guts to make that stand for windows.

microsoft “security”?(3:16pm est wed jul 16 2003)is this some kind of joke?everyday the news is reporting anothermicrosoft security patch.i give them about 3 months before they are hacked. this is our homeland security? the same people that told us to duct tapeour windows. this isn't just a stupid political ass-wipe, we're talking stupidity of criminal proportions! – by moses

is anyone else more than a little concerned with the ties that continue to pop up between the us govt. and microsoft? since when does our federal govt. prosecute a company then hand them multiple $100m contracts?

something smells like huge back room dealing and the entire planet is going to have to deal with the ramifications of throwing gas into the fire of bill's global conquest.

the lapses in m$'s security in proggie's such as outlook has given the fed's a way to peek into email looking for “threats to our nation.” add microsofts push for paladium and it seems we have a full blown conspiracy theory. – by wedo

microsoft security = oxymoron(4:39pm est wed jul 16 2003)why not use their own creation. nsa linux??? it's something the nsa has had for quite some time now but always fails to actually use it…huh, guess someone is getting their pockets lined with the preverbial “fat cash” – by brodie man

home land security(4:40pm est wed jul 16 2003)i would hope that the homeland in-security keeps their servers on a private net, like the banking system.

you cant hack into what you can't connect to.

on the other hand if their database contain information their “crack” team of experts have come up with….what real value would it have.

maybe their “real plan” is to use disinformation databases as targets for the hackers??

and maybe uncle gates will give the people of the world a free upgrade to the next os?? – by tahoerick2000

allah be praised!(4:41pm est wed jul 16 2003)due to allmighty intervention the american government has now decided to purschase the most pickable locks for their homeland security….

re: brodie man(4:52pm est wed jul 16 2003)i doubt anything the nsa cooked up would ever be put inot common desktop use… those guys put out some crazy stuff… (carnivor, magic latern, elchlion (sp?)) i'm sure if you even bothered trying to ask the nsa about its own linux, they would deny it to the death… bunch of crazy bastards, they are… – by downwiththeman

hmmm…(5:12pm est wed jul 16 2003)so if software development is moving to middle eastern countries (for example, india – and we all know it is), are we now looking at the possiblity of protecting our country's security with software produced by the people we are protecting it from? sounds like a really bad idea to me. – by m@

less safe…totally!(5:18pm est wed jul 16 2003)yes, hell ya i feel less safe. what stupid fuck signed this deal with microsoft?? we might as well give our country away since we all know ms products are, shall we say, not containing the best security measures implemented within its software.

this is totally laughable, and it tells the hackers of other nations, we are more stupid then we actually are….

well, guys we have two options: start another country or surrender!

as they say, there goes the neighborhood. – by topgun

security of shared source(5:22pm est wed jul 16 2003)so, ms has given windoze source code under its shared source program to what country? china? russia? and who else?

thanks bill for globalized security hole. – by propaganda m$

blar blar blar(5:37pm est wed jul 16 2003)no one is in more power then the man himself… bill gates… hell once he has globlized ms into every governments departments, you believe he will allow them to retain control of it?! hell no… maybe this is some of the motivation for china to be pushing linux use… sounds to me like its time to leave the cities behind and go live with the pigmies… – by medicinman

you forgot to logoff!(5:47pm est wed jul 16 2003)they did not find wmd after war so now they are trying to to showoff what have they got by using ms os for national security…… helllooooo y r u trying to screw yourself. hell to ms.. “those who don't know how secure they are, are trying to secure the nation…. ummm wake up.. – by captain crash

you just don't get it!(5:49pm est wed jul 16 2003)they got the contract because this country is full of geeks and slackers who are too busy crying in their beer to do anything to stop the republican machine that has stolen our freedom and now bows to the highest bidder for any and all election fund events. get a clue folks its not about security – we are ten years behind at the dhs and no contract, no os, no chevy or ford haters are going to make a difference. so if you want to talk about a hack on the dhs or the us army systems do it or shut the hell up – otherwise neglect to suck up to the bush money machine and vote different next election and maybe things will change – or maybe not but all the same cowards talk of battle – warriors show up and stay silent – – by laughing at you

this maybe really cool. (6:12pm est wed jul 16 2003)if m$ and intel screw the us government the way the have other partners, they are going to piss of government big time. the the doj, ftc, fcc irs… all step in at the same time and it's good bye m$ and hello jail for gates. – by lol

whats next? the world will stop spinning!(6:12pm est wed jul 16 2003)sh1t they cant keep track of all the holes that windows has in it. and now after fighting the govement for the past 4 years now the goverments going to let them take charge of homeland security…….fvck do you smell something that smell like sh1t here. – by neo

my…god…(6:28pm est wed jul 16 2003)now that i know microsoft oss are behind u.s. homelend security, i can sleep well! in another country, preferably! – by wepitydafool

not a big win for microsoft. it is the status quo(7:56pm est wed jul 16 2003)“microsoft wins another big software contract from the us government.”nah…it is not a big win…microsoft is holding onto its business that it has already with the u.s. government.

i wonder….(8:36pm est wed jul 16 2003)i wonder if they'll put in another red phone for the microsoft tech support hotline? – by jayrad

security=micro$oft…not!!!!!!!!!!!!!(1:09am est thu jul 17 2003) anyone with even the most marginal knowledge of computers knows that m$ software is the least stable, least reliable and easiest to hack stuff out there in wide distribution. it amazes me that after the nsa spent all kinds of time and money to develop a more secure version of linux, the dept of homeland security hands over this huge contract to miscr$oft and dell. i can understand dell, they make about as good a generic pc box as you can get anywhere, but windoze? the smart solution would have been nsa secured linux on servers and red hat linux or macintosh os x on the desktop. not only would this provide a more secure system, it would also be easier to network and administer. i guess the civil service it folks have the greatest job security in the world now. it'll take a bunch of them to keep this turkey up and running. here's a preview of your “homeland security”– by nopczone

hahahaa(1:54am est thu jul 17 2003)all you haters must bow down to the best…somos mejores – by mex

asdf(6:07am est thu jul 17 2003)why is it that ms has not taken security seriously? is it because of all the functionality of windows or is it because they actually profit in some way from the insecurity. i would bet the us government and ms are closer than u think. just a hunch. – by noob

only the product is ms(8:40am est thu jul 17 2003) there are two facets here. the product is microsoft but, implementing and admin will be contracted out to someone like eds or a plethora of start up/ spin off contractors. in the past, individual government agencies have spent unknown amounts of ovrehead money on it and control of software. external it admin will help them get a handle on the actual hours and cost. this way ms gets their cut of every installation, something that has slipped through their fingers in the past. – by rcaman

actually… it doesn't stop the holes that m$ puts in the system since the facilities themselves don't use kerberos. it is only used to identify a user. if you don't want to be identified, then just hack the servers as usual. – by old sampler

what else can(2:52pm est thu jul 17 2003)i f***ing say. if the government trust ms software, then who are you mother f**kers to say othewise? f**k you all. two homw runs for ms in less than a month. and with who else but the us government. in other news, a motel in texas claimes they will switch to linux. after they were explained what linux is, they took back their claim because though they were switching their porno distributor who they do not like anymore since he's not providing them with new material, like “japanese high school girls go crazy 3” – by wd

re: wd(9:49pm est thu jul 17 2003)besides the fact ms has insecure software, they use all the dirtiest tricks in the book in all areas they are associated with. this is why i dont like ms, let alone trust them. – by asdfff

re: asdfff(9:41am est fri jul 18 2003)“besides the fact ms has insecure software”–ok, you have to really show me proof that ms has insecure software. there's plenty of breaches in linux and apache web servers. so you have to provide some good proof

“they use all the dirtiest tricks in the book in all areas they are associated with”–ok, so unless you have illegaly entered the ms premisses and found hard copies of their dirty tricks, or you work for them and are part of the “dirty tricks” team i will not take your claim seriously. explain to me their “dirty tricks” and i will accept it.

– by wd

wd(10:24am est fri jul 18 2003)it takes real knowledge and experience to exploit linux/open source, not a chimpanzee with a mouse. talk to the average linus/unix admin and talk to a typical mcse. it's the difference between talking to the mechanic and talking to the salesman.

fact: linux is the most secure pc operating system. just look at the stats. – by /modus

security!(6:20pm est tue jul 20 2004)does anyone see that by giving microsoft the homeland security project that microsoft will be more diligent in creating software that cannot be easily hacked?

this is a big responsibility! besides they may just get it all right this time! – by critter

security!(6:22pm est tue jul 20 2004)does anyone see that by giving microsoft the homeland security project that microsoft will be more diligent in creating software that cannot be easily hacked?

this is a big responsibility! besides they may just get all of it right this time!